Comparative Politics Assignment
examine the growth of civil society and its impact on democratisation in nigeria
Civil Society refers to non-state organisations that chiefly seek to advance the interest of the people. It is generally understood in Hegelian terms as the distinct sphere of public space, separate from the state which manages the social relations and communication between the state and the citizens. 1CSO action across sub-Saharan Africa became dense and widespread in the 1990s as a result of influx of foreign aid from western government and monetary forces such as the Bretton Woods Institutions who shifted the main recipients of donor aid from governments to civil societies; hence a growth stimulant leading to widespread CSO action across the African continent. 2Naomi Chazan has written about the prominent role of these organizations in the political liberalization in the early 1990s that was seen as the resurgence of civil society in Africa. She states that3 “[t]he urban protests of the late 1980s and early 1990s that triggered the process of reform were initiated either by civil servants, students, professional organizations, trade unions, or churches, and carried out by a combination of these and other groups in over 20 countries”.
Civil society in Nigeria has had a noticeable impact and has played a contributory role to the democratisation process albeit often faced with problems of corruption among the higher echelons of the CSO movement. Civil society tradition has existed in Nigeria preceding the colonial era and evidenced in the era of imperial colonialism and subsequent authoritarian military regimes. Generally orchestrated Trade union strikes in 1964 and 1981 are evidence of this, bringing the nation to a standstill and forcing the governments of the time to negotiate civil society groups. 4Civil society activity in Nigeria has been dominated since independence by the older, larger organizations like the trade unions, professional associations like the Nigerian Bar
Civil Society refers to non-state organisations that chiefly seek to advance the interest of the people. It is generally understood in Hegelian terms as the distinct sphere of public space, separate from the state which manages the social relations and communication between the state and the citizens. 1CSO action across sub-Saharan Africa became dense and widespread in the 1990s as a result of influx of foreign aid from western government and monetary forces such as the Bretton Woods Institutions who shifted the main recipients of donor aid from governments to civil societies; hence a growth stimulant leading to widespread CSO action across the African continent. 2Naomi Chazan has written about the prominent role of these organizations in the political liberalization in the early 1990s that was seen as the resurgence of civil society in Africa. She states that3 “[t]he urban protests of the late 1980s and early 1990s that triggered the process of reform were initiated either by civil servants, students, professional organizations, trade unions, or churches, and carried out by a combination of these and other groups in over 20 countries”.
Civil society in Nigeria has had a noticeable impact and has played a contributory role to the democratisation process albeit often faced with problems of corruption among the higher echelons of the CSO movement. Civil society tradition has existed in Nigeria preceding the colonial era and evidenced in the era of imperial colonialism and subsequent authoritarian military regimes. Generally orchestrated Trade union strikes in 1964 and 1981 are evidence of this, bringing the nation to a standstill and forcing the governments of the time to negotiate civil society groups. 4Civil society activity in Nigeria has been dominated since independence by the older, larger organizations like the trade unions, professional associations like the Nigerian Bar